Rod weeder for chisel plows



H. L- MOWBRAY ROD WEEDER FOR CHISEL PLOWS Oct. 21, 1952 Filed Oct. 27,1949 any HARRY L. MUWBRAY \NVENTOR Patented Oct. 21, 1 952 Harry MowbrayMedfordtOkla'. v Application October 27, 1949, Serial No. 123,903

p This invention relates to what -is generally I known in theagricultural implement field as a rod type weeder. Such weeders consistof a long red of irregular cross section.mounted trans versely at therear of a chisel type plow. Bearings are provided in which the rodrotates,: and a suitable power take-.-o ffrt ates the rod during theplowing operation. The rotating rod'travels at below ground level, anddue to its rotation and shape,- picks up weeds that'areloosened by theplow, pulls their roots from theground, and releases them to wither ontop, Of the ground.

It has not previously been practical, however;

to use such weeders whenplowing rocky soil, because the contact of anysingle plow chiselwith an underground rock resulted in throwing thatchisel out of lateral alinement, with all the other- Claims. (01.07 m)plow chisels, which in turn resulted in bending the rod and rendering itincapable of further operation until it was, removed I and straightened.The farmer-operator simply could not afford to take the time to removeand straighten the rod every fewminutes. v

.Itis the chief object or-m inventionto provide a sectional rodweedereach section of. which is capable of assuming a position ofmisalinement, with respect to the other sections without afiect+ ing thecontinued eflicient I weeder. 1

" It is another object of the invention to provide a'sectionalrodweeder, whichis capable of being mounted on" a chisel plow which isso designed that each chisel is capable "of freely moving out of lateralalinement with'the other chisels when a rock, root, or otherundergroundobstruction is encountered.

It is anotherobject to provide bearings for the various sections of therod which will. permit them individually to move topositionsof'longitudinal misalinement withrelation to the others'ections"The invention, together with other objects attending its production,will'be'more clearlyunderstood when the following description is'readwith reference to the which:

without affecting their ability to continue retat.

Fig. 1 isa planview of a 'chisel plow 'with the? rod weeder of thisinventionatt'ached theretof i 2 isa rear view'ofthe s'ame,.illustratingthe operating misalinement "of two red sections when a chisel encountersan obstruction;

Fig. 3 is a section taken along'lthe line 3 3 at Fig. 1 and shows oneform of pivot mounting fon the chisels of chisel plows;

er t on th accompanying drawings, in.

,,illus.trated in Fig. 3;

Fig. 4 is an exploded perspective view showing 1 the details ofconstruction of the pivot mounting Fig. 5,is a side view, partially insections; and a Fig. 6 is a'section taken along the 1ineli.i5-of- Fig.5, and shows further, details in the bearing-- construction. v e i tSince the invention is adapted for-attachment.

to a chisel plow, the plow will first be described.

' are rigidly supported by the frame. Chisels 21,;

22, 23 and 2d are carried by the rear transverse; frame member, IQ, anda. suitable pluralityof. similar chisels 25 and 2 6 are usuallycarried-by the frame member H Each chisel carries an; arcuate plowingblade 21. The plow, as described above, forms no part of my invention.As a means of pivotally mounting the chisels on the frame'member H] abracket leis-provided;- This bracket is formed to slip:.tightlyonto-the; lower flange of the I-beam Mandi-may beheld firmly thereon byany suitable means such asa, conventional set screw, not shown. At .oneend the bracket 28 carries integral depending perforated ears 29 and 30which are spaced laterallytc receive the straight shankof the chisel.-The. chisel is held between these cars by means of-ja;

suitable bolt or pin 3|, whichpasses beneath and The opposite endof thisstrap is also arcuate;

as shown, and isprovided with a longitudinally,

disposed elongated slot 33. The shank of a;1'; -bolt also holds inposition one arcuate end of 'a strap;

- 34is passed upward through the slot- 33, through.

' ward end of-the chisel shank to tilt-downward when the rear end ofthechisel encounters anobstruction. The 'rear edge of the bracket 28 simplyserves as a fulcrum about whi'chthe chisel shankpivots." 7 .2 'Lwsection, of a suitable bearingfor journalling the yariousrod;

I the rod,'as shown in Figs. 2 and 6.

and serve to anchor both-the bearing plate and the plow blade 2!thereto. Near its lower end the plate is provided with an elongated perforation the upper end of which is substantially semi-circular, as shownin Fig. 5. The semicircular upper end of this perforation snugly- 48.One end of this bearing half 18 is made integral with a flange 49, whichextends at right angles thereto and lies flat along the surface of plate(see Fig. 6). The flange 49 is perforated and a bolt 50 passes through asuitably located perforation in the plate and firmly holds the bearing'half in position. Aspool 5| has a central bore 52 of irregular crosssection to coinplementally receive one of the rod-sections 4il42. Thecentral portion of the spool is of a diameter to be properly journaledin the bearing half 38, and the flanges at the end of the spool are oflarger' diameter to prevent it from accidentally slipping out ofthebearing receiving hole in the pl'ateAE. r

As willbe understood by those familiar with this art, ground pressureagainst the rod sections will normally keep the spools in a position torotate within the bearing halves 48. Whenever one of the chisels islifted by an obtruction, and the adjacent rod sections are moved out oftransversealinement, as shown in Fig. 2, the elongated bearing receivinghole in the plate 45 permits the spool 5| to tilt and to continuerotating with It will be understood that the spool and the bearing halfshould be made of dissimilar metals for better wearing characteristics.7 It will also be seen that if at any time either the bearing halves orthe spools become badly worn they can be easily and quickly replaced.

The flexible couplings '43 and 44 are illustrated only b'y' -the'standard Patent Office mechanical symbols because the details in theconstruction of whatever type of coupling is used is'not material; Anyone of many types of'universal joints could be used, or flexible platecouplings could be used.

As to the means of rotating the rod sections, I provide'an I-beamextension 53 on the frame member ill, attached thereto by overlappedplates 54, one welded to each side'of the I-beam web. On its outer endthe extension 53 rigidly carries a cross member 55 which journals twostub shaitslili and 5'! in bearings 58 and 59. The outer ends oftheseshafts carry sheaves 6B and 6!, which are connected together by a'driving belt 62. Y

Theother endof'shaft 56 is connected by flexible coupling 62.. to rod63, the other end of which is in turn connected: to. one. end of rodsection 40 by means of a flexible coupling e4.

The, inner-end of shaft 5! is connected by flexible couplingBE to-rod66,. the other end of which is. connected to a; hub; fitting 61 by meansof another flexible coupling 68. Hub fitting 6'! simply slips over theouter end of the hub of Wheel [9 and is non-rotatably connected theretoby any suitable means, as by welding, or by bolting to the hub flange.

It will thus be seen that when the plow is drawn over the ground, therotation of wheel [9 will be transmitted through the rod 66, pulleys-451, and rod 63 to the various rod sections 4042. At any time one ofthe blades 21 encounters an obstruction it is free to move upward bypivoting its chisel. The adjacent rod sections simply move to positionsof misalinement, as shown in Fig. 2, and the plowing operation continueswithout interruption, and without damage to the rod weeder.

receives acomplementally shaped bearing half Having described theinvention with sufficient clarity to enable those familiar with the artto construct and use it, I claim:

1. The combinationwith' a chisel plow which includes a wheel supportedframe and laterally spaced ground engaging chisels mounted thereon forpivotal movement about'transverse axes, of: normally transverselyaligned bearings carried by the chisels; a spool carried by each bearing for rotational an'drtransverse tilting move ment therein; short rodsections supported in the bores of said spools; and flexible couplingsconnecting the adjacent ends of adjacent rod sections -and permittingrotation of the sections while slightly out of alignment. 2. Theinvention described in claim 1 in which the cross sectional shape andsize of the rod sections and the boresv in said spools "arecomplementaland non-circular. l

3. The invention described in claim 1, and

means operably connected to at least one ground wheel and to at leastone of said rod-sections for transmitting rotary motion from the Wheelto said rod sections "as the plow travels along the ground. 7

4. ma plow of the class having a wheel/supported frame and laterallyspaced ground engaging chisels mounted thereon for independent pivotalmovement on transverse axes, ajweeding attachment therefor comprising:normally transversely aligned bearings carried by the chisels neartheirground workingends; short rod sections journaled in said bearings;flexible couplings connecting the adjacent ends of adjacent rod sectionspermitting rotation of the sections while slightly out of alignment; aframe 'extension rigidly supported from the plow frame; a pair of jackshafts journaled in said frame extension; aligned sheaves or pulleysfixed to rotate with therespective shafts; endless drive meansconnecting said sheaves j flexible drive means rotatably connecting oneof said shafts to a wheel of the plow; and flexible drivemeans rotatablyconnecting the othershaft to one of "saidrod sfi tions. 7.

5. In a combination chisel plow and rodweeder of the class whichincludes a wheel supported frame carryingv a plurality of spaced chiselplow members which areindependently movable in a vertical plane. aboutindividual transverse axes, and which carryibearings, which collectivelyjour-. nal and support a transversely disposed weeding member rotated bymechanical connectionwith one of the groundwheels, the improvement whichcomprises: a transversely tiltable, spool rotatably; and looselyjournaled .in the bearing of each chisel plow member; a short Weeding.rod section supported intheboreof eachsp'ool and disposed in end to end"relation, one end of each section terminating adjacent its spool; andav flexible coupling connecting the adjacent ends of each pair of saidrod sections and permitting rotation of the sections while slightly outof alignment.

HARRY L. MOWBRAY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

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